Bumper



Aug. 31, 1943. DUDLEY 2,328,378

. BUMPER. 1

Filed May 16, 1941 [N VEN TOR JQA)? 6 2711122 A TTORNE bumpersused to check impacts.

Heretoforadifilculty Patented Aug. 31, 1943 Chrysler Corporation, Highland Q corporation ofDelaware H Park, Mlch., a. B

whammy 16, 1941, Serial masses; a cl im .gol. 261-63) 'l 'hisinvention relates bumpers and hasparticular reference a to improvements. in plastic While myi-nvention is capable of use under a wide variety of conditions and in connection with many devices, it is especially beneficial for use in connection with motor vehicle wheel suspension systems wherein a bumper is subjected to repeated blows of a force of relatively great mag nitllde. j

hasbeen experienced in providing a bumper having the desired resilience or shock-absorbing properties and which will.

. have ajlife under ordinary usage commensurate with the life of other parts of the motor vehicle.

With prior bumpers, theplasticfbody, usually of cemmercial rubber compound, cracks and fails to operate properly due to impacts received during the vehicle operation. Heat developed in the bumper body'alsocontributed to premature failure. If thebumpers were formed of a rubber or increasing hardness in an effort to prevent .their premature jdestruction, then the desired yielding properties of the rubber were sacrificed.

It is an object of my invention to provide a bumper which will overcome the failures experienced with prior known bumpers.

Another object is to provide a bumper having improved operating characteristics; a bumper having a life appreciably longer than prior known bumpers; a bumper which will not developheat to the extent of prior bumpers under the same operating conditions. u

An additional object is to provide a bumper which will accommodate use of a harder rubber without sacrificing the desired deflection rate in u comparison with a standardbumper of the same general size.

Further objects and advantages of my invention will be more apparent from the following illustrative description of a specific embodiment thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawinglin which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a vehicle wheel suspension showing my invention applied thereto. i

Fig. 2 is a sectional'elevational view of my bumper, the section being taken as indicated by line 22 of Fig. 1. l Fig.8 is a view of the Fig. 2 bumper when under impact load.

Fig. 4 is a like view wherein the bumper is deflected still further.

.Referring to the drawing I have shown my bumper assembly A mounted on the lower swin control arm B ofajwll-lmdwn"inde endent suspensionsystem for vehicle ground wheel C. This wheelis 'carried by support arm D1 which is swingingly mounted'on frame Ebylower arm B and upper control arm F. The usual coil spring G supports the frame E on arm B forspringing action to allow wheel C to rise and fall. When thewheel rises relative to the frame, bumper A comes into action provided the relative movement is sufficiently greatand acts against the frame abutment H to deflect the bumper as in Figs. 3 j

and 4 and thus limits the wheel displacement with a cushioning action.

Bumper A comprises a body It ofsuitable plastic such as "rubber which term is employed in my specification and claims to embody any rubber-composition or the commercial so-called rubber substitutes or artificial rubber of the type known as neoprene or Duprene.

- The body I0 is bonded to plate II and to the head of a fastener I2 suitable for attaching the bumper A to spring seat l3 which, in turn, is secured to arm B. Body I0 is of general truncated frusto-conical shape preferably modified to provide a curved outwardly bulging side boundary wall. The tapering body is formed, preferably by molding, with an opening therethrough at l4, this opening being preferably cylindrical and extending along the axis of body I 0. u

The opening I4 ventilates the rubber body and facilitates heat dissipation so that its life is materially extended. Furthermore this opening ber of the same shape but without the opening tion rate.

softens the bumper thereby making possible the use of a harder rubber without sacrificing deflec- I have .thus determined that my bumper formed of 60 hard rubber provides about the same deflection as a bumper of 50 hard rubll. My invention therefore enables the use of a smaller volume of rubber and av harder stock iwithdut sacrificing deflection limits. My bumper will absorb. much higher impact load, over con ventional bumpers, without breaking owing to various factors including the aforesaid heat dissipation and also in that the rubber under deflection flows not only outwardly but inwardly at opening it as seen in Figs. 3 and 4. 7

By preference the plate Ii projects shelf-like beyond the base of body Hi. This prevents the rubber from bulging around andbelow the edges of plate i I and avoids tendency of the rubber to crack and fail at the base region of the body III.

In Fig. 1 I have illustrated another of my bumpers A. carried by arm F and engageable with frame abutment J for limiting downward displacement of Wheel C relative to frame E.

The diameter of opening I4 is preferably such I prising a rubber body of approximate frusto-conie cal shape having an opening axially therein,.,a

support bonded to the base of said body and extending transversely to said axis, said support projecting beyond said body from around said base to freely accommodate bulging of base porsaid plate when subject to axial blow at its apex portion.

3. A bumper of the character described comprising a body of non-metallic deformable yielding material, said body when under static condition being of approximate truncated frusto-conical shape modified to present an outwardly bulgll fim bo ndar Wall cur in t fiwfi fi t base and apex ofsaid body, said body being' adapted for support at said base and to receive an impact at said apex in the general direction of its axis, said body having an axial opening extending through said apex and inwardly therefrom toward said tions of said body and to support such portions I said body being free to bulge outwardlyadjacent base for at least the major portion of the axial length o said body thereby to ventilate said body .andaccommodate deformation thereof when subjected to said impact, and a support plate extending transversely of said axis and bonded to said body at its said base, said plate extending transversely of said axis and projecting outwardly from around said base to provide a shelf-like support for portions of said body which a'redeforme'd outwardly when said bo'dyvis ssubjectednto im- Dactas'aforesaid. i 1 I p JOHN C. "DUDLEY; 

